


Night-time Scares

by rinstop



Series: Prompt fills [16]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6212377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinstop/pseuds/rinstop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a movie scares Makoto, but Rin is there to protect him</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night-time Scares

Makoto hated scary movies. He scared easily on a good day anyway, but there was something about the way horror movies were made - the framing, pacing, lighting, the way the music built up so that his heart was pounding and he knew, he just knew the monster was lurking behind the corner, ready to jump out and kill them in red, gory detail. It was terrifying! Why, oh why, had Nagisa picked it?!

He hid under the covers at first, pulling them over his head so he wouldn’t see anything, but just listening to the sounds was almost worse - he felt hyper-aware of every noise, every creak, every whispering gust of air in the room. So then he tried to watch a little, peaking through his fingers when the music made it seem like things were calm only to jump behind either Haru or Rin, seated either side of him, when the monster melted out of the shadows, his screams mingling with the ones on screen. Haru put up with his clinging with the ease of long practice, but Rin hadn’t dealt with this side of him much and he felt bad about hanging on to him and tried to avoid it if he could.

But after the first few scares, he felt a rough, calloused hand slide over his own and looked to the side to see Rin staring determinedly at the screen even as those fingers twined around his, wrapping around him in a warm, sturdy grip. He couldn’t help but smile then and clung, trembling, through the rest of the movie, body unconsciously shuffling closer to curl behind Rin, who took it upon himself to tell Makoto when it was safe to look and shield his eyes with his other hand when things became violent on screen. He felt safer with Rin holding his hand, even if he couldn’t quite manage to ignore how scary the movie was or how terrified he was even after it had ended and they had finally gone to bed.

He’d found it hard to go to sleep, his mind jumping at every creak in the house around him, unable to forget the way the monster had shuffled and skittered over the floorboards in the movie, even though he told himself he was being stupid and none of it was real. But in the dark of night, it was too easy to believe it was and when he finally drifted into slumber, sandwiched between Rin and Haru, it was restless and uneasy. He woke again, some time in the dead of night when everything was eerily silent and the sounds that he would never notice during the day seemed too loud in the small house - the hum of electricity from various appliances, the steady ticking of the clock, the rustle of the wind through the tree outside making the branches tap against the window just like in the movie…. His heart sped up - the familiar route to the bathroom seemed suddenly perilous. He got up slowly and dithered near the doorway, needing to pee desperately, but he couldn’t bear to go alone. Preoccupied by his conundrum, he didn’t realise he had woken Rin up until he heard his voice through the darkness,

“Makoto? You okay?”

“Huh? Y-yeah, I…sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s fine. Why are you up?”

“Um…I was just going to the bathroom….”

“Oh…okay.”

….

“Makoto? You still there?”

“…Yeah….”

Makoto fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt, twisting it between his fingers, suddenly feeling childish and stupid, because it was a route his feet had walked countless times since he was little and he could do it with his eyes closed. But it was so dark out in the hallway, without even the moonlight shining through the window and his mind kept thinking of the way the monster had lurked in the deepest of shadows and his feet wouldn’t move.

“Hey, you want me to come with you?”

“Please?”

Relief flooded him at Rin’s offer, followed by shame, but Rin’s hand wrapped around his again and led him through the darkness until they got to the bathroom door and then stood outside, like some kind of guardian. When he came out, Rin smiled at him, the bar of light through the doorway shining over the side of his handsome face to light his hair a bright fiery red, and took his hand again. But this time he led him to the kitchen a poured out two glasses of milk on the tabletop between them.

“Here - this always helps me sleep.”

“Thanks, Rin.” He ducked his head, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m just being silly really, aren’t I?”

“Nah,” Rin glanced at him sidelong with a soft smile on his lips that Makoto didn’t understand. “I think it’s cute.”

“Huh?”

Rin chuckled at his surprise. “It is! But don’t worry, I’ll protect you, okay?”

Makoto felt his lips widening into a pleased smile, his eyes crinkling happily at those words. Even just leaning nonchalantly against the countertop, Rin looked strong and confident and cool - it was easy to let his imagination run away. Just thinking of the way his hand had felt over his made his heart flutter.

“Yeah…you’re like my knight in shining armour.”


End file.
